Rogue
by Silent Sound 715
Summary: This is an idea I've had in my head for a while, so I decided to post the first chapter before I continue with the story. This is my take on what could have happened had Deidara been captured by Konoha instead of escaping after the incident with Gaara. If it continues, it will be a love story between Deidara and Sakura. Cheers!
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note_

_Hey everyone! This is my very first story! I have always loved Deidara as a character and I wish there was more Fanfiction about him. This is a little something I've had in my head for a while now and I decided to post the first chapter and see what you all thought. I'm not making any promises about continuing the story, it is all dependent upon my school work and if I can figure out how to make this story work out (though I have started a second chapter). If it does become something, it will be a romance between Deidara and Sakura with an M rating to be safe. _

_Constructive comments are appreciated! This is canon until chapter 277 and partway through episode 30, I have posted an additional note within the story where canon ends. I do not own Naruto or any of its characters and no Copyright infringement is intended._

_Enjoy!_

Rogue

CHAPTER 1

"_Shit."_ That's what Deidara thought as he turned around after noticing the team of ninjas forming a loose semi circle around him.

He had been watching the Jinjuriki, Naruto, from his hiding place among the bushes after using the replacement jutsu to escape the blonde ninja's attack. If that had hit, he would certainly be dead by now. Already Deidara could feel the excruciating pain from his body; he was cut in several places, both arms hung uselessly by his body as they had been broken in several places from earlier fights with both the Shikaku and Copy Cat ninja, and he was certain several ribs were broken after being slammed into the ground just before the Naruto had tried to attack with the Rasengan.

After moving away from the attack and hiding, Deidara witnessed the strange sight of orange chakra enveloping the jinjuriki. Two "tails" had formed behind the ninja and violent chakra had permeated the space around him. With a vicious growl, the jinjuriki looked wildly around him, obviously searching for Deidara. Just as it seemed like the he would loose total control, the copy-cat ninja, Kakashi, pulled out a seal and attached it to the jinjuriki's forehead. Immediately, the orange chakra retreated Naruto became placid.

A few moments later, much to Deidara's surprise, the pink haired kunoichi and old woman appeared; both appeared haggard and worn, but very much alive. That could only mean that Sasori-senpai had been defeated and most likely killed, and that in turn meant that Deidara was now completely on his own. Luring out the Jinjuriki with the Kazekage's body had been a good idea, but the fact that the copy-cat ninja had followed ruined Deidara's chance at a swift capture of the jinjuriki. Realizing the severity of the situation, Deidara backed out of the bushes after deciding now was the time to slip away; he couldn't fight much longer and any attempt at combat would end badly for him.

...Which is how he found himself faced with a group of four ninjas that were obviously the jinjuriki's allies.

"Good work, Neji."

The one who spoke was older than the other three and wore a green track suit, while the other three, two boys and a girl, stood behind. All were poised in attack positions.

Looking at them cautiously, and finally focusing on the one with white eyes, Deidara said, "I see. That must be the Byakugan; the eyes that are passed down in Konoha alongside the Sharingan. You used their power to find my blind spot and sneak up on me. I'd love to see how they differ from Itachi's Sharingan, but right now I need to make my escape."

Boldly, Gai declared, "With Konoha's strongest platoon, Team Gai, on your tail, there is no escape!"

Jumping away from each other, the chase began. As he jumped, Deidara leaned forward and brought his hidden kuni that had been tucked in his leg wraps to his mouth. With both arms useless, it was all he could do.

Two members of Team Gai darted forward to engage Deidara; he parried their attack off with the kuni and was pushed backward while the other two members launched forward to attack and were again blocked by Deidara's kuni. Ten-Ten threw several shuriken towards her opponent but they were blocked by the kuni. While Deidara was distracted, Lee jumped forward and aimed a kick at Deidara's head; leaping backward to dodge, Deidara used the trees behind him to kick off and start his retreat. Ten-Ten summoned a large shuriken and threw it towards Deidara; as it approached, it turned into four medium sized shuriken and each became lodged in the tree mere seconds behind their target. Suddenly, Gai appeared and kicked over the tree Deidara had been scaling. Leaping quickly away, Deidara thought, _"I can't outrun them all!"_

Lee landed in Deidara's path and used his Taijutsu to throw punches and kicks in Deidara's direction. Dodging all, Deidara moved backwards in a quick retreat only to fall backwards into Neji's Hakke Kuushou. The force of the attack threw Deidara into a nearby tree. On impact, he grunted in pain and fell to the ground. However, at the sound of Ten-Ten's scroll unraveling, he looked up in time to see several shuriken coming towards him and he jumped to a tree and scaled it quickly, using the opportunity to move through the branches and continue his retreat. Gai and Neji pursued, followed closely by Lee and Ten-Ten.

[This is cannon until chapter 277, cannon ends here]

Deidara wasn't sure how much longer he could go on and just as he was contemplating how he could best outrun Team Gai, a flash of pink leaped up from below him and with a chakra enhanced fist, hit the branch he was standing on. The branch exploded upward, dislodging Deidara and throwing him to the ground. As he landed on his back, a yelp of pain was wrenched from his lips; his left leg had been broken by the hit. He tried to stand but his body refused to listen while his mind screamed for him to get up and run but despite he efforts, Deidara was not able to move from where he had landed.

Slowly and cautiously, Team Gai jumped from the trees and approached the fallen ninja. They formed a loose circle around him as they watched for any signs of attempted escape. Deidara had closed his eyes and, knowing he was caught, did not move.

"Don't move," said Gai. "I told you no one could escape Team Gai."

Deidara said nothing to this. His eyes were still closed and he was panting heavily at this point, his breathing labored by the pain consuming his senses.

Naruto, Kakashi, and Chiyo approached from where they had been standing, while Sakura walked towards them from where she had delivered the final blow. _"What have I gotten myself into now?" _Deidara thought. _"I shouldn't have provoked them and escaped when I had the chance." _Hearing them approach, Deidara cracked open his eyes and glanced around, observing the gathered ninja and finally locking eyes with the pink haired kunoichi. Sakura's eyes stared intensely at his for a moment until the pain overcame Deidara once more and he closed them.

No one spoke for a few moments, trying to conserve their strength and still wary of the blonde ninja that lay fallen before them. "What should we do with him?" inquired Ten-Ten.

Naruto snarled, "We should tear him apart for all he's done! I'll do it myself!" But before he could make a move, Kakashi held him back.

"What are you doing sensei? He...he killed Garra, attacked the Sand and tried to capture me!" Naruto looked over to where two of his clones were supporting the lifeless body of the Kazekage, one of his best friends, one of the only people who had known what Naruto himself had been through.

Kakashi replied, "Now hold on a minute, Naruto and think. We have a high ranking member of one of the world's most infamous rouge ninja groups; we can learn much from him, so lets not be hasty. I think we should bring him back to Konoha for interrogation."

Hearing this, Deidara opened his eyes once more. Being a proud ninja, he refused to show weakness in front of the enemy. Voice raspy, he said, "You won't get anything from me, may as well finish me now, yeah."

Naruto wrenched his arm from Kakashi's and before anyone could stop him, he violently kicked Deidara's side and sent him skidding several feet away. Biting back a cry of pain, Deidara glared at Naruto.

"Shut up!" growled Naruto. "You look half dead already and it wouldn't take much for me to end your miserable life." Turning around, Naruto moved towards the edge of the forest. "Do what you think is best sensei, but leave me out of it. I'm not sure I can restrain myself." With that, Naruto took off into the trees.

Sighing, Kakashi turned to Lee. "Will you go with him?"

"Of course," replied Lee who turned to follow Naruto. "I'll make sure he doesn't go too far."

Kakashi looked at Gai, "What do you think?"

Gai frowned and finally said, "I agree with you, this is too valuable an opportunity to pass up. We can restrain him and bring him in for questioning. Although in his state, I'm not sure he is fit to travel there."

Turning to Chiyo, Kakashi said, "Right, if you are okay with it Chiyo, I would like to request that Konoha be given full responsibility of the Akatsuki member."

Tiredly, Chiyo nodded. "I think that would be for the best. He would not be welcome in the Sand, even as a prisoner and honestly, I think he will be killed either by an assassination attempt or under torture before we could get any information out of him. He has simply done too much to warrant any other treatment by the Sand."

"Thank you. Sakura, do you think you can heal him enough to get him to Konoha?"

Speaking for the first time since she had dealt the final blow, Sakura replied, "I can heal him enough to move away from here and set up camp, but to get to Konoha, I will need to replenish my chakra supplies."

Kakashi nodded. "Very well."

Speaking up, Chiyo asked, "Can I see my grandson? There is something I would like to check." Without waiting for a reply, she moved to Garra's body and had the clones lay him on his back. Kneeling next to him, she watched him silently.

Sakura walked towards Deidara. "Okay, I need room to work. This may take a while. Please move away for a bit everyone, I don't think the Akatsuki is capable of doing any harm right now."

Nodding their assent, the rest of the squad moved off to the other end of the clearing to tend to their injuries, while keeping a close eye on the two. Kakashi pulled his pack off his back and after a few seconds of rummaging through it, pulled out a pair of chakra blocking hand cuffs. "Here Sakura, use these. As injured as he seems, we should not underestimate an S-rank missing ninja." He handed the cuffs to Sakura.

"Thank you sensei." Kakashi nodded and moved a little bit away, but remained close enough that should something happen, he would be there in moments.

Deidara was vaguely aware of the conversations going on around him, but was in too much pain to think coherently and thus remained silent. His breathing and pulse had both become more erratic and he grew close to loosing consciousness. He barely noticed the kunoichi that kneeled next to him and restrained him with the chakra binding cuffs.

Sakura carefully turned the wounded ninja on his back. She could tell he was in quite a bit of pain and before she even began a diagnostic check, she knew he had several broken bones. Carefully, she used her kuni to slice open the Akatsuki cloak he was wearing. She also removed the pouches of clay from his waist and moved them to the side. Once removed, Deidara remained in his mesh shirt and vest, pants and boots. Calling upon her chakra, Sakura moved her glowing hands over his body to see what injuries he had.

…..

_So, what did you all think? Should I try to continue this story? Constructive comments are very welcome! Cheers!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note:_

_Hey everyone! I've received some very nice reviews and several requests to continue this story. I have been thinking of how to continue this story and I think I can turn it into one of decent length. It will be hard with University but I will do the best I can to be quick about writing new chapters. Your support though is what will really keep me motivated to continue with this, so reviews are very much appreciated!_

_I do not own Naruto or any of its characters and no copyright infringement is intended!_

Rogue

CHAPTER 2

After defeating Sasori, Sakura and Chiyo moved quickly through the ravine to catch up with Naruto and Kakashi. Even with Chiyo leaning heavily upon her and being exhausted from the fight, Sakura pushed herself at a rapid pace towards their destination, concerned for the wellbeing of her teammates. The blonde, rouge ninja was obviously powerful, demonstrated by his ability to capture Gaara single-handedly and the longer it took to arrive, the more likely that one of her friends would be severely injured, if not worse.

When they finally arrived, Sakura noticed Kakashi standing in front of Naruto; both of them looked exhausted. Something caught her eye and she glanced to the side. Her breath caught in her throat as she noticed the lifeless body of the Kazekage, Gaara. Pushing aside her grief, Sakura turned towards her comrades. "What happened to the Akatsuki?"

"He used a replacement jutsu and vanished; Naruto lost control and started to change so I didn't pursue," answered Kakashi. "I can still sense him nearby but I think he's just as tired as all of us. If we spread out we can..."

All of a sudden, the sound of clashing metal was heard. Sakura realized that Team Gai had arrived! Through the trees, they could just barely make out the shape of a fleeing figure with the rest of their friends in pursuit. It looked like a tough chase and as Team Gai pressed the rouge nearer towards Team Kakashi, Sakura decided to intervene. She leaped forward and with the thought, "_he won't get away!_" pushed chakra into her fist and slammed it upward towards a branch just as the rogue stepped down. He realized too late what was happening and as her fist connected, Sakura could hear the sickening crunch of bone as his leg snapped. He fell to the ground and did not move.

...

Sakura quietly contemplated the rouge ninja; it was obvious to her that he was fighting to stay conscious. As a fellow ninja, she understood his reluctance to pass out in front of the enemy, however she was surprised by the small amount of admiration she felt for the man. "_He killed Gaara and very well could have taken Naruto! What are you thinking Sakura!?" _her inner voice yelled at her. Shaking her head, Sakura fused chakra into her hands and started to evaluate the damage.

The rouge's body looked like it had gone through hell; both arms were useless, one crushed and the other completely broken, several broken ribs, a broken leg (courtesy of her), as well as lacerations and bruises all over his body.

Sighing tiredly, Sakura started to set the bones in one arm; she wouldn't heal them completely but at least she could stabilize them to make the journey back to Konoha a bit easier on all of them. Once the bones were set, she reached into her medics pouch and wrapped his arms. Deciding to move onto his leg, Sakura looked up at his face for a moment - his eyes were closed but he was breathing easier as her healing chakra flowed through his body. However, she could tell he was still conscious by the way his body was tense.

Once she was through with the rogue's leg, Sakura sat back on her heels. She was tired and decided that the rest of his injuries could wait until they made camp later that day. Running her hand through her short hair as she again noticed his reluctance to pass out, Sakura decided to try to find out some basic information about the blonde ninja to see if he was thinking clearly. "What's your name?" she asked.

Snapping his eyes open, Deidara considered the kunoichi. "Don't you know it's impolite to ask for my name without giving your own? And besides, I'm pretty sure you already know the answer to that question, yeah," he said sarcastically.

Shifting to her knees, Sakura replied, "of course, but I still want to hear you say it. Consider it part of my examination to make sure you're coherent."

Huffing, Deidara said, "fine, fine. I'm Deidara, yeah." It couldn't hurt to give her information that was obviously in the Bingo Book.

"Where are you from originally?"

"Iwagakure."

"Age?"

"Wouldn't you care to know!" he snapped. He was fed up with everything and too tired to care about playing her little game of twenty questions. Deidara glared at Sakura and started as she quickly raised her hand. He thought, "_I've done it again. Sasori-sempai was right, I really need to think about things before I say them out loud_." He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable fist to hit him but after a few moments realized that nothing had happened. Opening his eyes once more, he saw the kunoichi tiredly rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Ugh, fine, we'll continue this later, for the moment you're obviously fine." With that Sakura turned towards Kakashi, who had been quietly observing the exchange from a few feet away, and said, "okay sempai, I'm done for the moment. He can be moved whenever you're ready."

Nodding, Kakashi called out to Neji, "help me move him to where Chiyo and Gaara are, I want to keep a close eye on that one." Neji and Kakashi walked over to where Deidara lay. "Can you sit up?" Kakashi asked him.

Without a word, Deidara pulled himself to a sitting position, all the while not showing a single indication as to how much it hurt to sit up. "We'll help you stand," said Kakashi, reaching down to support his arm.

"Back off, I'm fine!" snarled Deidara; he refused to show anymore weakness in front of these Konoha ninja. It was bad enough that they had sealed his chakra and had healed some of his injuries.

Neji tensed in preparation for conflict but Kakashi simply stood back up and waited in his quiet way for the man to stand on his own. Deidara pulled his uninjured leg forward and with a grunt of effort, pushed off from the ground into a standing position. He almost lost his balance without the use of his left leg but managed to stay up right and looked at Kakashi. The two regarded each other for a moment, sizing each other up. Sighing, Deidara looked away towards Neji, who was still posed to fight. "Relax, I'm not stupid. I know when I'm at a disadvantage. I'm not going anywhere." _At least not for the moment, better watch out later though, yeah!_

Kakashi grabbed Deidara's arm and started steering him towards where the Kazekage lay. As they slowly limped over, Naruto and Lee reappeared. Naruto was still visibly upset but calmer than before; his eyes shot daggers at Deidara but otherwise he ignored the rogue. Reaching a tree several yards from Gaara, Kakashi nodded towards the ground in front of the tree. Deidara slowly sat again at the base of the tree and leaned back into it, his hands bound in front of him. "Neji, watch him," said Kakashi. Neji nodded his assent and Kakashi turned towards where Chiyo and the rest of his comrades where gathered.

"What do you think," he asked. Chiyo looked up with sad eyes and replied, "he's gone."

Naruto tensed and glared once again at Deidara, who was looking at the ground for the moment. As Naruto took a step forward, Sakura arrived at his side and laid a comforting hand upon his shoulder. "There's nothing to be done now, Naruto. What's done is done, we can't change that, as much as we'd like too."

"I know that! But it's not fair! He finally got the respect of his village, he finally got everything he wanted..." Naruto wiped his eyes angrily as he realized that he was crying.

Lee spoke up, "Gaara and I fought once; he was an amazing shinobi and I had always hoped that we could have a rematch."

It was at that moment that a gust of wind blew by the group. They all looked behind them and saw that Kankuro and Temari had arrived. With a cry, the two raced over to where Gaara lay and knelt beside their baby brother. Stroking Gaara's head, Temari whispered, "we were too late, we couldn't save him! I'm so sorry Gaara!" Kankuro put his hand on her back and asked, "did you get the bastard?"

"Chiyo and I killed Sasori and we caught Deidara; he's over there with Neji," said Sakura as she pointed in Neji's direction. As Kankuro and Temari both stood slowly, Sakura continued, "I know this whole situation has been messed up but we want to bring him in for interrogation. Please let us do that, Chiyo already agreed that we could take him back to Konoha with us."

Temari turned to Chiyo, "is that true?"

Chiyo replied, "it is. I thought it best since Naruto is the one most at risk; Konoha will best handle the situation." She glanced down at Gaara once more. "Besides, the rogue is no longer a threat to us."

Deidara looked at the two sand ninja warily; he could see the bloodlust in their eyes as they struggled to stop from attacking him, but he also saw grief. He didn't regret what he had done against the jinjuriki, but strangely, he felt a hint of jealousy over how much the jinjuriki's friends cared for him.

Suddenly, Deidara flashed back to a memory: a small girl standing next to him laughing followed by an image of her bleeding in his arms, a dark room and the sounds of chains clinking. And finally, a quiet voice whispering in his ear that he was...

Shaking his head harshly, Deidara banished the images from his mind. _"Now's not the time! Think! How are you going to get out of this?" _

While he was busy contemplating his escape, Deidara failed to notice that the group had all become silent. It was deathly quiet in the forest as everyone stared in shock at what Chiyo had just said. Finally noticing the quiet, Deidara looked up.

"Grandma Chiyo, what... what did you just say?" Naruto stuttered.

"I can bring Gaara back. I developed a life-giving technique many years ago; I never thought that I would use it in this situation, but I can see how much Gaara is loved. Thank you for helping us get back our Kazekage everyone." With that, Chiyo knelt beside Gaara's body and began using the jutsu. A bright light formed at her hands and a warm glow was felt around the area. Everyone stood quietly, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, Chiyo fell to her side.

Sakura rushed forward, "Chiyo! What happened? Are you okay?" Coming to her knees next to Chiyo, Sakura used her healing chakra to find the source of the problem. She became rigid as she realized what had happened. Slowly, Sakura removed her hands, "Chiyo is dead..."

Temari and Kankuro reeled in shock, "what!?"

WIth a quick jerk of her head, Sakura looked at Gaara. She stood and ran to his side, and using the same technique she had just used on Chiyo, she checked Gaara's vitals. After a moment, her eyes widened and she said, "he's alive! His heart is beating and he's breathing again. How is this possible? Unless that life -giving technique..." All at once, everyone understood what had happened; Chiyo had given her life for Gaara's.

Deidara was just as shocked as everyone else. _"He's alive? That old woman really just died and brought him back to life?"_

And then, Gaara opened his eyes.

...

_I know it ended sort of abruptly but I wanted to get a second chapter out as soon as possible while finishing this part of the story as quickly as possible. So yay! Gaara's back and we can start moving on with the plot. I will post the next chapter as soon as I finish it. Reviews are very much appreciated! Cheers!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note:_

_Hey everyone! Long time no see! Sorry for the long wait, but between holidays and starting University again, I just haven't had time to continue with the story. I finally had time to sit down and write this next chapter. I want to thank everyone for the awesome reviews and words of encouragement, they are seriously what keep reminding me how much I want to continue to get this story written and posted. Enjoy!_

_I do not own Naruto or any of its characters!_

Chapter 3

"_No way! It's not possible! The old woman seriously just brought the Kazakage back to life."_ Deidara watched the scene unfold before him with wide eyes.

Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro all cried out in joy and fell to their knees beside Gaara. Very slowly, Sakura helped him sit up; he was obviously dazed and confused but he was definitely alive and in seemingly good health. "What happened? Where am I?" asked Gaara.

Speaking slowly and clearly Sakura replied, "you were attacked by the Akatsuki; we followed you here and got you back. How are you feeling? Any numbness or pain?"

"None that I can tell... But, it feels like I've been asleep for a longtime, I don't really remember what happened either."

"Tell us what you do remember." Sakura placed her hands on Gaara's forehead and started checking his body for injuries while he spoke.

"I remember fighting the Akatsuki and then all of a sudden I was standing in a dark void. I couldn't hear or see anything; but I felt like my chakra was being slowly pulled from my body. Finally the feeling stopped and for a while there was nothing, and then a white light appeared in the distance. It felt like it was calling to me so I walked towards it and next thing I knew, I looked up and saw all of you." As Gaara finished his story, he looked over to where Deidara was sitting. The two locked eyes until Deidara was forced to avert his gaze. Gaara blinked slowly. "I was dead, wasn't I?"

Stunned, everyone looked at each other unsure of how to respond. Sakura, being the medic explained after a moment, "yes you were, the Akatsuki stole the Shukaku from your body. But Chiyo brought you back, she saw how much you were loved and gave her life in return for yours."

Looking towards the ground, Gaara was silent for a long time; he was deep in thought. Finally he looked up and looked around at everyone present. "Thank you all, for everything. I wouldn't be here without all of you and especially not without Chiyo-sama. She will be given the proper burial she deserves and you all are welcome into Sand anytime you wish. You have my gratitude."

At Sakura's nod of approval, Gaara, with Naruto's help, stood up. "We must return to our village immediately, everyone must be very worried." He looked over to the rogue; "take him with you, he is of no use to us. His information will be far more valuable to Konoha and I can't very well take your lead on Akatsuki after you all risked yours lives for me. If you ever need help in the future, call on us, we will come to your aid."

Kakashi stepped forward, "thank you Kazekage-sama. Konoha appreciates your generosity. We accept your offer gladly. We will also be returning to our village now, if you no longer require our assistance."

"Very well, I wish you safe travels, and thank you again." With a nod, Kankuro picked up Chiyo's body carefully. Gaara turned towards Naruto, his first and closest friend, "Be careful, Naruto."

"Nothing's going to stop me Gaara, I'll bring down these bastards! Believe it!"

Gaara gave him a small smirk, nodded, and took off (surprisingly quickly considering the ordeal he had just gone through) with Temari and Kankuro not far behind, after they gave their own nods of respect.

Once the sand ninja had disappeared from sight, all eyes turned towards the rogue ninja currently looking stubbornly at the ground in front of him. "We need to get away from this area, we don't know if any other Akatsuki are hanging around and we all need to rest. We will travel until we find a place to rest for the night" Kakashi said. He nodded at Neji and with silent understanding, Neji reached down to drag Deidara to his feet.

Deidara let out a small hiss of pain as his broken body was jolted suddenly. Realizing what he had done, he snapped his jaw shut and glared daggers at Neji. Not intimidated at all, Neji pulled Deidara forward to stand in front of Kakashi. "Can you move well enough?"

Narrowing his eyes at Kakashi, Deidara just nodded shortly. "Sakura, you stay to close to him; Neji keep a close eye on him as well. The rest of us will form a loose circle around him as we travel and make sure he doesn't get away. Here we go." With that, Deidara was pushed forward by Neji and the group of ragged ninja moved forward through the forest.

Sakura, in keeping with her sensei's orders, kept close to Deidara as they moved. They weren't traveling very fast due to the condition of the group and the chakra binding handcuffs around the rogues hands. However, they pushed forward, eager to find a safe location for the night and looking forward to returning to the safety of the village. After a few hours, Sakura noticed that Deidara was struggling greatly but refused to give any indication that he was feeling weak. The only tell tale sign that he was weakening was the shortness of his breath and the fact that his limp had been getting progressively worse as they moved. "Sensei!" she called. "We need to stop soon, I have to check everyone's injuries."

Nodding in understanding, Kakashi came to a halt; everyone stopped, still in a loose circle around the rogue. Looking around, Kakashi said, "This looks like a good spot to stop for the night anyway, agreed?" Everyone nodded tiredly but remained watchful of everything going on around them. The place they had stopped was a small clearing in the forest; trees surrounded the small grassy area and the sound of flowing water was heard a few hundred feet off to the side. A large rock was settled at the edge of the clearing. "Move the prisoner over to that rock; Lee and Ten-Ten, keep watch over him." With a salute from Lee and a nod from Ten-Ten, they walked up to Deidara and grabbed each of his arms. Too tired to protest, Deidara allowed them to move him.

While this was happening, Kakashi was issuing orders to start a small fire and gather water from the river. As each person went to complete their assigned duties, Sakura walked over to where the rogue was now sitting. Ten-Ten had summoned a large stake and drove it into the ground; it was one of her special weapons meant to trap an opponent - once driven into the ground, there was no removing it, except by using her chakra. A chain traveled from around the stake to Deidara's cuffs a short distance away; there was no way he was escaping now, though they still guarded him carefully.

Wearily, Deidara contemplated his situation. He knew for the moment there was no escape, the Ten-Ten girl had explained to him what the stake was meant for and he could feel the power emanating from it. For the moment, he was still held prisoner. He knew he would get his chance at escape but also accepted that even if he had the opportunity, he could not escape right now. He was completely was dehydrated and in a great deal of pain. All the running had gotten rid of any energy he had once had not to mention the fact that it put too much strain on his battered body. His leg was throbbing and he could feel every laceration covering his body. "_For now, I will rest, yeah. It doesn't look like they're going to try anything now, may as well take advantage of the situation and recover what energy I can." _

Through half-lidded eyes, he watched the copy-cat ninja issue orders and saw as everyone dispersed to complete their tasks. The pink haired kunoichi was walking towards them; as she got closer she called to the two other Konoha ninjas, "how are you two doing?"

Enthusiastically (where did he get all that energy, Deidara thought grumpily) Lee turned to Sakura and replied, "I've never been better! I could still run all night!" Suddenly, he fell down and grabbed his leg, "okay maybe I'm a little sore" he said laughing. The two girls shook their heads and laughed quietly.

"I'm okay," said Ten-Ten, "just a few scratches, nothing I can't take care of myself. Look at Lee's leg."

Sakura knelt beside Lee and did a quick diagnostic check, "you'll be fine, just a sprained ankle, let me take care of that really quickly. I would heal your scrapes too but I have to see to everyone else as well." Her hands become engulfed in that healing glow as she placed them on Lee's ankle, which quick;y repaired itself.

"Good as new! Thanks Sakura!" Lee jumped up and down before, leaning against the rock behind him.

Sakura then turned towards the rogue sitting on the ground; she could feel him watching her carefully. Undaunted, she crouched next to his sitting form. "What about you?" All she got in response was a tired, "fine" and a glare. Sighing, Sakura reached for Deidara's forehead to check for a temperature. All Deidara saw was her hand reaching forward and he flinched backward into the rock behind him. "Relax, I'm just checking your temperature."

Sakura was slightly intrigue by his reaction; she had noticed that the rogue ninja did not care to be touch at all. Slower than before, she reached again for Deidara's forehead, this time he only tensed; removing his forehead protector, she placed her hand on his head. He was burning up with fever, which was to be expected considering his current physical state. She removed her hand and brushed against something cold and hard. Narrowing her eyes, she move the bangs from his face and saw the scope he had placed over his left eye.

"What is this?" she inquired as she pulled it from his face. When he didn't answer she grabbed his chin and forced him to look her in the eye, "I said, what is this?" Her words were icy and Deidara swallowed quietly before answering.

"It's a scope, yeah. It lets me see things at a distance." She dropped his chin but he remained looking at her suddenly noticing the beautiful green of her eyes. "_Like an emerald...Wait, what? What the hell was that? Did I seriously just admire her freaking eyes!?"_ Quickly looking elsewhere, he missed the perplexed look that crossed Sakura's eyes for a moment.

Sakura had noticed the way he looked at her after answering her question and was very confused by it. No one had ever looked into her eyes the way this rogue had just done, almost like he was looking into her. Shaking her head slightly, she quickly did a diagnostic check of his body. She healed the bones in his leg a little more, healing the damage done earlier from running for so long, and took care of several scratches that looked like they would become infected if left untreated. She locked eyes with him once more before standing up and telling Ten-Ten and Lee that she would get someone to bring water for them. Then she walked away to check on her other teammates, leaving both herself and the rogue wondering about what had just occurred.

...

_So Gaara came back to life (I know quite a few of you were happy about that!) and we have started to progress with the story some more. So what was that between Sakura and Deidara? And what happened in Deidara's past to make him the way he is now? I guess you'll just have to keep putting up with me to find out ;)_

_Thank you so much for reading this story, it means the world to me. As always, I love hearing from everyone so send me a review when you have a few moments, who knows, they may encourage me to write another chapter more quickly! Cheers!_


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